Pre-Budget Report

I do not think we should rush into rapid cuts. One of my areas of disagreement with the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge is that I do not think there is a strong case for that. It is a difficult issue and there is a balance to be struck, but rushing into expenditure cuts in 2010-11 would carry a greater risk of precipitating deeper recession. My party takes the view that the Government's eight-year plan, with a four-year halving of the deficit, is a reasonable starting point. My judgment is that we will probably discover that it is not enough, but we have to start somewhere, and it is a reasonable working assumption.